As some of you might know, the first edition of Good Soil magazine in January of 2022 was a print edition, in a limited run. I quickly found that independent magazines put out by one person or even a small staff are nearly impossible to sustain. They’re expensive to print in small numbers. They must be mailed individually with no media subsidies. The editorial calendar is driven by submission to the printer, waiting for proofs, and the time it takes to have them printed.
Substack was a godsend when I switched the magazine to digital distribution. The goal of Good Soil is to celebrate classical children’s literature, guided by John Senior’s list of the thousand good books that everyone should have read. I go into the reasons why this is important in another post, but that goal remains the same. Even magister Joannes admitted that his list was incomplete and that he surely left out important authors and works.
I’m finding lost authors, and adding them to the list at the Good Soil companion site, www.thousandgoodbooks.com. For example, I discovered that Juliana Horatia Ewing’s works are exhaustive. And Palmer Cox’s “the Brownies” are delightful, mischievous little fairy-like creatures based on Scottish folk tales. They’ll be appearing in the coming January issue.
And that leads me to my announcement.
Starting in January of 2024, Good Soil magazine will once again become a monthly magazine, following a reasonable editorial calendar. Substack will still be our home, but by populating the editorial calendar out by ninety days, I’ll be much better positioned to once again have fun with the interconnections between stories and poems. That delighted me in the first issue.
It will also allow readers time to comment on an issue so that we can have a “letters to the editor” section. There are many other benefits, such as aligning seasonal content to each issue, to make it tighter in theme each month.
I’ll also be better able to cover down on each of our sections, in most cases offering two stories in each section, one for the boys and one for the girls. This is pretty close to what each month’s issue will contain:
Feature Normally one feature by your humble editor, showcasing those interconnections between articles and anything of interest I found while "putting the issue to bed." Guest editorialists are also welcome! Biograph An in-depth article featuring one of the approximately 150 Good Book authors or classical illustrators. Mail Bag Letters to the Editor and snippets from conversations from the Notes and Chat features of Substack Fairy Two fairy tales from Andersen, Grimm, or others with the chops to pull it off--one each for boys and girls. Fable A fable usually from Aesop, along with artwork and discussion Poetry A selection of seasonally appropriate poems appealing to boys and girls. Honestly, this has been my favorite "duty" since starting Good Soil, and we won't disappoint in the future. Reading and learning poetry is one of the most pressing hidden societal needs today. The Nursery Two stories or chapters from the appropriate authors, one each for boys and girls. Grade School Two stories or chapters from the appropriate authors, one each for boys and girls. Adolescent Two stories or chapters from the appropriate authors, one each for boys and girls. Young Adult Two stories or chapters from the appropriate authors, one each for boys and girls.
Of course, we will continue the recent practice of adding audio narration to most of the content, for those who aren’t in a place where they can read, but can most certainly listen.
I’m still tinkering around with exactly how I’ll be able to post the magazine at the beginning of each month without blowing up your phone or tablet, but I think I have a solution. One can create a private link or leave a story as a draft and send (or link to) a private copy without actually publishing it (yet).
So in just a few weeks, you won’t be getting scads of new article notifications every day or so, you’ll be getting one on the first of each month, unless I have something really important to say. The rest of you can hop on Notes or Chat and we can have deeper discussions about what you liked, what you didn’t like, and what you’d like to see in future issues of Good Soil.
The bottom line is that it is becoming a monthly issue again in January.
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